Introduction
Brief History
Simmons manufacturing company was established by Zalmon Gilbert Simmons who was an entrepreneur. Simmons desire to establish the company was due to the introduction of machine which could weave wire mattresses (Edmondson 2). He successfully managed his manufacturing company until his death in 1910 when his son took over from him. By that time the company was diversified as it operated in countries across the world. Later the company was taken over by other managers who were not part of Simmons family. In other words, there was a succession of many CEOs who managed the company. As a result of this, Simmons went through several transitions that negatively affected its production. During those troubling times, Simmons was run by Charlie Eitel who was the CEO of the company (Edmondson 5). It was because of many problems that triggered Eitel to propose a program known as Great Games of Life (GGOL). The GGOl was however not positively received by top managers and employees who were very hostile towards it. Since every one doubted and opposed GGOL, an experiment was carried out at Charlotte, one of Simmons plants. This was done by implementing the program at the plant in order to test its effectiveness. Eventually, GGOL proved to be effective although initially it was not welcomed positively by employees (Edmondson 4).
Why Simmons should roll out the GGOL
Ideally, as the world is going through tough economic times, there is need for business sectors to adopt change in order to survive in the competitive market. Change is very essential especially when it bears positive results. Narrowing down to Simmons case study, it was a logical move for Eitel to propose the GGOL program was meant to improve production at Simmons. His new ideology about GGOL was geared towards expanding Simmons while making it a place which could satisfy everyone including employees and customers (Edmondson 5). Basically, GGOL program should be rolled out by Simmon as it had proved effective at Charlotte plant. Tremendously, Charlotte managed to improve hence it was awarded as Plant of the year among the rest. Clearly, this is an indication that the program could also perform so well in other plants. Managers at Simmon need to recognize the need for change as it would bring positive results to the company. Probably they are hesitant to adopt GGOL especially because the word is going through economic crisis. Because of this universal change it is fundamental for the company to adopt strategies that would contribute to its expansion (Edmondson 3). Even though there could be other approaches, Simmons should give GGOL a trial bearing to its results at Charlotte. In order to roll out the program, Simmon can start with two of its plants first instead of all of them. By starting with two plants, Simmons would be testing the efficiency of the organization. Simmons next move will then depend on the results of GGOL at the two plants. Incase the test is successful Simmon can therefore extend GGOL to other plants (Edmondson 5).
Conclusion
Ultimately, there is need for Simmon to adapt new strategies that would elevate it from its numerous problems. Considering this fact, managers at Simmon should adapt the GGOL as a new change in the company. This is mainly because it had proved effective in one of the plant where it was tested. As the world is changing, companies also need to change so as to survive in the tough economic times. Virtually change should be recognized and implemented by organizations (Edmondson 2).
Works Cited
Edmondson Amy. Leading Change at Simmons. Harvard Business School: Massachusetts. 2007. Web.